What a Whirlwind

Before I get into this post and its purpose, I want to thank all of you who have supported me, reached out to me, offered me love, encouragement and inspiration as a result of my last post. If you missed it, then click here to find out what "all the fuss" is about. It's my testimony, being shared in this way -- this honest, open way -- for the first time. It was really scary for me to share it, but I am so happy that I did, and really looking forward to seeing what God does with me as a result of it all. So, thank you so much, I hope it helps someone out there! I love you :)

And now, I shall begin to write about what brought me here in the first place tonight...

I am currently writing to you from Istanbul, Turkey! Which is amazing, because it's a city I've wanted to visit for a while now, but also unbelievable, because it means that our Israel tour has already ended. In the eight days of our organized tour, we visited over 40 sights in Israel! And to think we didn't even make it to the southern part of the country!

Our guide told us there were over 150 more things to do/see in the country, and it seemed clear that you couldn't even kick over a pebble without uncovering some [Biblical] history -- incredible! I really fell in love with the country, and do not doubt I will spend a lot of time going back to Israel, getting to know the culture more, and exploring the gorgeous country.

I have our itinerary next to me, and to be honest, I just see a sea of names. Some especially stand out, and I can remember what exactly the place was/what we did there, but there are so many that are blended together with the rest. This is definitely the type of trip you finish, then figure it all out. It's the only way to really make sense of everything and know where you've been/what you've done, when you spent 8-10 solid hours being a tourist each day for over a week.

The tour was amazing, I loved it so much, I am so grateful and glad to have done it, but I am also content for it to have ended. I'll miss the people and places, but I will not miss having wake-up calls between 6 and 6:30 each morning, nor will I miss spending so much of my day on a bus in transit. I am looking forward to long days of walking, hiking, swimming in waterfalls, sleeping in hammocks, hearing calls to prayer, being with some of my favorite souls, and also, especially, being alone/on my own time and terms for a while. Some of this will come here in Istanbul, much will come next week in Croatia, and the rest will come when I'm roaming around Slovenia. So much good stuff is happening in life! So grateful!!!

I'll be writing a lot about Israel over the coming days/weeks, so I hope you're ready to learn a lot of history, see some amazing sights, and fall in love from afar with a country you've got to add to your very own Hit List! (Which I realize might sound a little bad, considering their situation right now, but I promise it's nothing to do with warfare. Just a list of places to Hit Up -- visit/see.) I've already started a post about my favorite things from the tour, but I want to collect some photos first. But just so I don't leave you with so little, I'll share a funny little story..

We are traveling with my 85-year old grandmother. She is a bit spacey, often confused, doesn't hear so well, and easily distracted, but she's also incredibly positive, doesn't take herself too seriously, full of energy, loves life, and is a real adventurer. She kept up SO well on this trip, lasted all day every day, and didn't miss a thing! Really, the woman is absolutely amazing. She's so funny, and it's been a great trip. We've been accumulating lots of funny stories along the way, one of the best being from today.

We woke up this morning, had breakfast, then loaded into a car, and were taken to the airport in Tel Aviv. It was nearly an hour's drive from Jerusalem, but everything was smooth sailing, and we made it there and through security very easily. Then, we had to go to the Duty Free VAT refund place so my mom and grandma could get their tax refund from some of the things they purchased. Now, we'd been told beforehand, that traveling between Muslim nations and Jewish ones can be hard right now, and we might have some trouble going between Istanbul and Israel. It was recommended to us that we don't wear any Jewish symbols (jewelry). My grandmother took this into high consideration, so much so, that while we were at the VAT refund counter, she said, "Well if they didn't know we came from Israel, they sure do now!" All of us paused for a moment confused, and then we finally realized why she'd said that...she thought we were already in Istanbul. hahaha.

Something along these lines happened again before we'd even left Israel, and she was sure we were already in Turkey, even though we'd never even gotten on a plane. And it only got better when we were in the car from the airport to our hotel here in Istanbul... we were talking about how the city is partially in Europe and partially in Asia, and she ended up starting a sentence, "Well, it's because it's got two sides. There's the Buda side, and the Pest side." Silence. "Wait, what?" She thought we were in Budapest, Hungary.

This is just an example of the funnies that we've been building up on this trip. And I"m so glad for them!

And now, I must go to bed, because even though we only just arrived in Istanbul today, we have a full day of touring arranged for tomorrow. The one and only day we have an itinerary, and then it is a bit of traveling freedom -- THANK GOD! ;-)

Sending so many blessings, and so much love and light and wonder to you all,

I Love You!

-Allie-Sun <3